The University of Utah's Independent Student Voice

The Daily Utah Chronicle

The University of Utah's Independent Student Voice

The Daily Utah Chronicle

The University of Utah's Independent Student Voice

The Daily Utah Chronicle

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Write for Us
Want your voice to be heard? Submit a letter to the editor, send us an op-ed pitch or check out our open positions for the chance to be published by the Daily Utah Chronicle.
@TheChrony
Print Issues

Upset students get administration to change its direction

The U administration’s abrupt change of heart toward the diversity department is evidence of the power of students and public perception.

Talk of moving the diversity scholarships to another department and hiring a new diversity vice president prompted U students to vocalize their fears for the program’s stability. Just weeks later, having thought better of the proposed actions, the administration decided to nix that plan of action and to instead redirect more money toward the diversity department. The department can now finally hire additional staff and advisors that they feel have been necessary for ages.

And the kicker is, they wouldn’t have done any of it if nobody had said a word.

The administration would have gotten rid of the diversity department scholarships without even submitting a press release to inform students. The U makes decisions on issues such as this all the time in hopes that we will overlook them and blindly trust the U’s intentions. When we don’t follow its mandates like lambs to the slaughter, its positions are often quick to change.

The diversity department’s stated goal is to help first-generation college students and students from ethnic minorities, a goal which is obviously very important to the U’s image.

Look at the U’s various brochures and pamphlets-you are likely to find just about every type of student represented. The U benefits immensely from appearing to accept and embrace all types of students, although it would be nice if administrators would show it in their actions before those students forced them to.

Just like every bottom line-oriented business on planet earth, the U seeks to mask similarly harmful measures all the time. It’s in its nature. It is the duty of U students to ensure that administrators do not violate their powers by obfuscating the truth on vital issues.

In this case, the student voice accomplished that goal. Diversity department associate vice president Karen Dace said, “(The U) isn’t just talking, it’s actually doing the walking now.”

Nobody had to tell these students to do anything. It’s just something they cared enough to try to make a difference.

And they did.

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